Fertilizer distributor



1957 A. c. PAWELA FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR AL BERT c. PAWELA Filed May 9, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Nov. 19, 1957 A. c. PAWELA FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Filed May 9, 1955 R m V m m. E .Lu W c a m E w a n L I A m. 7 m AU In m m m a 90 n z... m 3. a, 2 r 7 l. 7 I 0 l I 6 mum 7 I 3 w w/v E A L L ZIVI J l U m 3 r 1 1 1 l d F, a. Mn 3 w U m 0 Nov. 19, 1957 A. c. PAWELA FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 9, 1955 INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY United States Patent-9 2,813,722 FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Albert C. Pawela, Winter Haven, Fla.

Application May 9; 1955, Serial 'No.-507,022 I 14 Claims. (Cl; 275-8) This invention is a distributor fondry powderedorgranular material and-designed particularly for: applying lime or fertilizer to land on-farms-.and in groves 0r orchards;

The distributor of the present invention is designed to be mounted upon a-power driven vehicle such as an. automotive truck orwtractor; and includes power-driven feedand spreader mechanism-powered from-thetengine of the truck.- While-distributors of this-:general char.- acter have been proposed heretofore,- thesetknown ma chines have certainobjectionable features which the dis-.- tributor of the present invention seeks to avoid.

One object of the invention is to-provide a distributor of the character describednwhich includesva'main sup.- ply hopper for the material tobe distributed together with 0 non-positive feed means for'delivering; said material to the distributor or spreading mechanismina self-compensating manner.

Another object of the-inventions is :to' provide :within the main hopper a reciprocating plate-feeder-having novel edge sealing means to minimize the waste or spillagewof material from the hopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary hopper'into which-the material from themain hopper is fed andto provide within saidauxiliary-hope per, a non-positivecentrifugally operable feed means for delivering the material-throughmetering: means: to .a throwing disk t or centrifugal spreader: means.

Another object of the invention is-.-to.provide novel material cut-off means' between a feed means-in the auxiliary hopper and thelcentrifugaltspreader meansttogether with control -meansrtherefor. operable -from.-the drivers compartment orcab of.- thetruck to which-the apparatus as a whole is attached.

Another'object of the inventionis to-provide-anv apparatus of the character describedwhich is adjustable to distribute dry powdered or granular material-such as lime, fertilizer or-sand, evenly: over-.farm; grove or orchard landin any desired amountwithimpracticallimits; such as between -pounds'andSOOOzpoundsper acre,-and which will operate to distributesuchi material uniformly without regard to rolling contours of the-land over which the apparatus is beingope-ratedza Another object of the invention is to providewa-dise tributingapparatus; OfdhCtChfiIfiCi'iI" described which is simple in eonstructionand which is accurate-andtuniform in operation.

Theseand other objects of the inventionwill become apparent from the following specification-when readin the light of the accompanying drawings in'whichz' 65 Fig. l is a side elevation'of the invention withparts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on'the line 2-2 of Fig. l; 7 Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the auxiliary hopperwith the rear wall thereofbroken away;

Fig .;4 -is..,a;top plan tview. of. thetauxiliaryhopper with partsbroken away;w,

Fig. 5 .is..a.side elevation of the auxiliary hopper with.

parts broken away;

Fig... 6 .is -a detailed sectional. view of .thezadjustment and: cut-01f; plates :t'or. .the auxiliary hopper Fig. 7 is a detailed perspective view of the .--bearing blocks for the .-reciproeating., plate .con-veyor;

Fig. 8 i823. side..elevation,- inv.perspective,. of..power.

means. for driving the:feed-.plate .and'. .disks.

In .the. accompanying drawings wherein I have ..illus.-.' trated. a preferred. form of-.the.. invention. and wherein like...reference numerals are. used .totdesignate. like;..,parts The vauxiliary hopper. B..comprises: vertical, side Walls 10"andtbottomtwa1ls 11 Thelatter taper. inwardly. and downwardly. to .form .ai hoppersgenerally in the; form rofan-invertedpyramid The..ap ex ofthepyramid is cut away one. plane generally perpendicular. "to the axis thereof. This. providestanropening 12 intthes hopper bottom;

which ,is closedtfrom .beneathby. a-.circular.feeder disk 13:

mounted forrotation in. a t substantially horizontal plane and infljuxtaposed,relationto.the edges of the walls; 11.

defining the .opening ll.whereby tospreclude loss of ma= terial, fromathe .hopper-tB by. passingv between-the disk 13 and the hopper walls 11.. Thearrangement of the disk 13,;withvrespect to ,the. opening 12 is best-showndn-Fig. 3 wherein. the upper. surface of tl16.-.diSk..-'1'3.-iS shown: in close .proximity to,:thetlower. edges of :theinclined bottom walls 11, .it,.being,;noted..that.theopening 121 isless-intransverse dimension than. .the..disk, .13. .so as do provide a desired degree-ofoverlap,between.thewdislcand the -lower edges of the hopper "walls totthereby effectively-seal thedisk to the hopper.:.

The inclined .bottom walls. 11. .on. opposite "sides of the longitudinalfcentral line-.of. the apparatus aswviewed: in Fig; 3 are eachtprovidedwith.=an,opening or.notch14 -in the lower .portion. thereof adjacent to: the surface-of-the disk 13, said notchestltl being-disposedatgenerally diaa metrically opposite.pointswithnespect to-the-diska These openings .14 .provide. exitnopenings for the material projejcted from the disk..13 when rotatedyin'a -mannerwto be hereinafter. described.

I provide means .for.selectively-controlling the eflective discharge areatof ,saidexitopenings 14'; said means-being in the,.form=of slidableplatesiS, mounted: upon'the :outer face. of vthe. slopingt walls 11: inany convenient manner, such as bythe.boltstl6zand slots 17as-shownaimFig. 5. By adjustingthe plates 15 lengthwise; the efiective i crosssectional areaof the: openings 14-may be controlled to determine the amount ofr material being I discharged from the'hopper Bjby the :disk ..13.!. Thewplates -15 may"be retainedin adjustable-positionby-means of pins-18-which may be placed many desired one of. alongitudinalseries of holes 19. Tprovidedin.thezplatesal5; The :pins 18-when so placed may engagethe.outer:surfa-ce-.of-the walls 10 to prevent downward. or\ closing .movement; of: the. plates or if desired, auxiliary locking.-platesi=2llsmay:be secured to the walls. 10 ,below. the: slots 21*pl'oVidedl iii/said walls and through .whichtthe. upper. endof theplates 15 project, the plates ZOeachHbeing provided with-anaperture 22 for receiving the pin-18, as shown: in.Fig. 5.

The feeder .dis' k .13.is. secured to-theupperend ofia o shaftg23 mounted forrotation.about*-a.-substantially 'vertical axis by any suitable..means.' If,desired,- strutseor bracketmembers 24 and-425..maybeprovidedwhich are Patented Nov. 19, 1957 connected to any suitable part of the truck chassis. The disk 13 is provided with one or more upstanding pins or lugs 26 to assist in constantly agitating the material and in breaking up any lumps of material within the hopper B to thereby maintain a free flow of material from the hopper B through openings 14. The shaft 23 may be provided with a drive pulley 27 by which the shaft and disk are driven from the power plant of the truck in any convenient manner as will be hereinafter described.

The shaft 23 carries a centrifugal throwing disk 28 at an appropriate distance below the feeder disk 13, said disk 28 being provided with throwing vanes 29 upstanding from the upper surface 30 thereof and extending generally radially of the disk. The material projected 1 through the openings 14 in the walls of the hopper B by the disk 13 falls into the open upper ends of tubular chute members 31 disposed outwardly of the periphery of the disk 13 and in substantial alignment with the openings 14. The chutes 31 are generally tapered in cross sectional area, being larger in diameter at the upper or receiving ends thereof and are disposed with their lower end in close proximity to the center of the throwing disk 28 as clearly shown in Fig.3. By this means, the material discharged from the hopper B is caught by the chutes 31 and delivered onto the surface of the throwing disk 28 from which said material is discharged uniformly upon the land over which the apparatus is being operated.

I provide movable closure means in association with the discharge openings 14 of the hopper for opening or closing said openings independently of the plates 15. This is desirable whenever it is necessary to close such openings without disturbing the adjustment of the plates 15, such as when the apparatus is being turned around at the end of a lateral run through a farm or grove. To this end I provide slidable cut-off plates 32, one for each opening 14. In Fig. one such plate 32 is shown mounted for sliding movement on the outside surface of the wall 11 in overlapping relation to the aperture 14 and is guided for sliding movement by the slot and pin connections 33 and 34. The plate 32 is provided with an aperture 35 corresponding in size to the aperture 14 and positioned so that when the plate 32 is in the extreme left-hand position as viewed in Fig. 5, said openplate is in the position shown, the openings 14 and 35 are out of registration and the opening 14 is closed. It is to be noted that the plate 32 is shown mounted to slide between the outer surface of the wall 11 and the adiustment plate and if desired the plate 15 may be off-set as shown at 36 to accommodate the plate 32 while permitting the upper portion of the plate 15 to lie substantially flush with the outer surface of the wall 11. Any convenient means such as the link L (Fig. 8) may be provided for manipulating the slide plate 32 from open to closed positions, said link being operatively connected to an arm 37 carried by a cross shaft 38 to which is connected an operating lever 39 located adjacent to the operators position or the cab of the truck. While I have shown in detail only one of the plates 32, it will be understood that a similar plate 32 is provided in connectron with the opening 14 in the opposite wall 11 of the hopper B, the same being similarly mounted and provlded with a control link as described. Conveniently, the cross shaft 38 may carry a second arm to which the control linkage of the second plate 32 may be connected.

As previously mentioned, the present invention contemplates providing non-positive feed means in connecmom with the main hopper A to supply material therefrom to the auxiliary hopper B. To this end, the main hopper A is provided with a botttom plate 40 mounted therein for longitudinal reciprocation. The plate 40 constitutes the bottom of the hopper A and a closure plate for elongated bottom opening in the hopper body. The

u I I n o mg w1ll coincide with the opening 14 and when the plate is provided with an upturned flange 41 at each longitudinal edge thereof and receives within said spaced flanges 41, the longitudinally extending lower edges 42 of the hopper body side walls 43. The outer face of each wall 43 has secured thereto adjacent to the edge 42 thereof means to provide a downwardly open sealing groove. Thus, an inverted angle member 44 may be secured to the lower edge of each wall 43 in a manner such that the edges 45 and 46 of the angle member 44 and the edges 42 of the walls 43 lie in a substantially common plane and constitute a bearing and/or sealing surface for the reciprocating plate 40. The plate 40 is supported upon a frame indicated generally at 47 and it may be supplemental to or a part of the truck chassis. The frame 47 includes longitudinally extending angle members 48 having secured thereto the spaced points throughout the length thereof, as by welding, cylindrical pocket members 49, alternate pocket members being disposed respectively on horizontal and on vertical axes as shown in Fig. 7. The pocket-forming members 49 may be short sections of pipe or cylinder tubing and in each such pocket is fixedly mounted a bearing block 50 of wood or similar material. Preferably the bearing blocks 50 are in the form of wooden plugs which may have been treated to make them wear-resistant and these plugs are fitted tightly within the pockets 49, with the end of the grain exposed at the bearing ends thereof. The plate 40 is provided with bearing surfaces to cooperate with the bearing blocks 50, such bearing surfaces being shown at 51 and 52 and comprising strips of stainless steel secured, as by welding, to the inner surfaces of inverted angle members 53 carried by the undersurface of the plate 40 adjacent the longitudinal edges thereof. The bearing blocks 50 disposed on the horizontal axis thus engage the bearing strips 52 which lie in a substantially vertical plane and the bearing blocks 50 which are disposed in vertical axes engage the strips 51 which lie in substantially horizontal planes so that when the plate 40 is reciprocated longitudinally by means hereinafter described, the weight of material within the hopper A is taken by the vertically disposed blocks 50 and the horizontally disposed blocks 50 restrain the plate against undue lateral displacement.

It should be noted that the joint between the hopper walls 43 and the plate 40 is effectively sealed against loss of material from the hopper by the pocket formed between the downturned angle members 44 and the underlying surface of the plate 40. Due to operation of the plate 40 finely divided material from the hopper A will work under the edge 42 and become entrapped within the pocket P and as this material becomes packed therein, such material functions to substantially preclude the entrance thereinto of any further quantity of the material from the hopper. If desired the pocket P may be coated or packed with heavy grease and this has been found to enhance the sealing action as well as to lubricate the contacting edges 42 of the wall 43 and plate 40. As shown in Fig. 2, the overall width of the plate 40 between the flanges 41 is slightly greater than the distance between the outside edgesof the angle members 44. This feature precludes any binding action between the parts when in operation.

Any convenient means may be employed for driving the plate 40 and I have shown in Fig. 8, more or less diagrammatically, one mechanism for this purpose. Mounted in any convenient manner upon the truck chassis and beneath the hopper A is a gear box 54, the input shaft 55 thereof being geared to a shaft 56 which in turn is driven from a clutch controlled power takeofi operatively connected to the truck power plant. The gear box 54 is designed to drive at proper speed, a shaft 57 which by means such as a sprocket chain or belt 58, drives a crankshaft 59 to actuate a pitman 60 connected in conventional manner to a socket member 61 attached to the underface of the plate 40. The shaft 55 may be coupled to .the input. shaft 62 of a gear box 63 .-which'tpr;0vid es a. proper. speed for the shaft 264,3 carrying {pulley ;=65 -d1s-':

posed with reference to the pulley 27 on shaft "23sothat the latter maybe driven-lbya belt 66.- Anyconvenient means such asthe clutch shifter CS,may be provided whereby the driver mayrcontroloperation of ,the shaft 56 from the vdrivers seat to render the sameoperatweor inoperative as desired.

As shown in Fig. 1 the plate- 40:;may be-mounted in The rear wall 67 of the hopper is' providedvwithean opening 68 beneath which plate 40extendsandtthrough which material from the hopper A is discharged into the auxiliary hopper B; The opening 68 is controlled by a vertically sliding gate 69 mounted on the rear wall 67 as shown in Fig; 3, Thus, the gate 69 may beguided by flanges 70 within which the gate is slidably'mountedand;

any suitable operating mechanism may; be'wemployed,

such as the handle 71 mounted on saidgate,-for;raising:

and lowering the gate. A lug 72 carried by the upper end of the-gate-is provided with anaperture 73 designed to cooperate with any one of a series ofvertica-lly arranged locking apertures 74 in a plate 75 secured to the wall 67 in a manner to permit the gate 69 and lug 72to pass thereunder whenever the gate is raised so that a locking bolt 76 may be passed through the hole 73 and one. of the holes 74 to thereby secure the gate incany desiredraised position.

If desired, the truck body or hopper A may-be provided with a removable cover .77 to protect the contents of the hopper from the weather, Thus, the upper edges. of the hopper walls 43 may be provided with flanges 78'to slidingly support the cover 77, the latter having a downturned flange 79 designed to receive the hopper walls-43 therebetween. If desired, the cover 77 may carry depending flange 80 at its rear edge toprovidemeanswwhereby a bolt 81 may be passed thereinto'and screwed into a cooperating aperture in the truck body.

Having thus described the invention, the'operation' of my apparatus will be readily understood Having placed in-the hopper A a desired quantity ofnmateriali suchas powdered lime or fertilizer to be distributed, the gate 69 is raised to any desired amount: and isecured in such position between bolt 76. The adjustableslideplates 15 are then raised to provide the proper degree-of opening for the openings 14 to insure distribution of material by the thrower plate 28 ina desired amount as 'for'instance a certain number of pounds of material peracre. Assuming the machine is located where'it is desired-to apply the material, thecut-ofi'plates 32 may be opened by the control means 39 and the engine of the .truck started and the clutch control actuated to drive the ':shaft"57.' The plate 40 is thus put into operation to feed material from the hopper'Ato the hopper B and the'feeder' disk 13 is now rotating at high speed to throw material from the hopper B outwardly through openings 14 into chutes 31 for delivering to the throwing disk '28 so that as the truck is driven into the farm or orchard, said material is uniformly scattered on both sides of themachine,

It is important to note that in operation, the reciprocating plate feeder 40 is self-compensating and isnormally driven at a speed to feed more material to the hopper B than is to be metered therefrom through controlled openings 14. Thus, as material accumulates in hopper B to a point above-thedischarge end of plate 40, and above opening 68 in the-rearwall-of the hopper A, the plate 40, althoughcontinuing' to operate at the same speed, automatically reduces its rate oflfeedof'material and may even stop feeding entirely when the material in'the hopper B reaches a given height." To realize this relationship, the discharge end of plate 40;enters the. auxiliary hopper B above thedisk 13 but well-below the-top of the hopper B so.that. the adischargetend ofv the,:plate.,40 ,may at. times.

become completely submerged. inrthe material ,accurnua lating in hopper B-. This.isanimportantladvantage,since.

the feed from thebulki hopper Aistthusrendered sel-. compensating and precludes entirely all dangeumf 1am.-

ming of choking of the apparatusas sometimes; occurs in. apparatus where a positive feedtmeans ismernployed to.

deliver material to an. auxiliary, hopper Another important advantage of, the. presentyapparatus is that due to the position of the controlwrneans v 39 and the clutch operator CS; theroperatorv hasrat his..commandv full control over :theareas to: be treated :and this,:without moving from his operatorsrseat-oor truckcab. In this,

operated by the lever 39, 1 may, if vdesired,duplicaterthe lever 39 and its cross shaft 38-.and ,connect themoperatingrlink for one of the cut-01f. platesrtheretowin. the manner previously described so thatvthe cut-otft plates 32 'may be individually andselectively controlled Furthermore, the :feeder disktl3in, the auxiliary hopper- B provides a continuous and forcefulprojection:of-material: through the openings 14 atall times. This insuresra substantially uniform distribution of material bytheuna-z chine in spite-of rolling contours in theareas being treated. Also due to the high speedof the. disk 13Jand thepins- 26 carried thereby the material .Withimthe auxiliary hopper. B is maintained in a constantstate ofrragitationiwhich in-. sures a uniform mixing of :all,ingredients comprising-,the, material being applied.

The novel arrangement of mounting the reciprocating plate feeder so as touclose theabottom ,openinggoflthe truck body provides a simple and economicalNdesign-for; the hopper and an.eflfectivevsealvfon-the joint between the plate and the hopper, while .the-duaLnsetsofo wooden bearing blocks (vertical and-horizontal) maybe replaced when necessary at a fraction-of :the cost of steel -balls or rollers. Also, by arranging the plateto be, reciprocated longitudinally of the main hopper and. I generally inuline with the direction of operation of fthe-rvehicle theaflow of material from the main hopper to, theauxiliary hopper is substantially unaffected by :thetilt of thehoppers-due to therollingcontours of theterrainv Having thus describedmy invention iit .will :be ap preciated by those skilled in the art that'various changes, maybe made in the size and proportiontofupar-ts within my apparatus without. departinggfrom the "spirit :of -in-. vention which is defined more -clearly. in-the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a material distributor, thelcombination-lwith a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper material distributing means, andrmeans for removing material-fromthe auxiliary hopper and vdelivering-gthe.same to the: material distributing means, of self-compensatingteeder means for delivering material from the supply-hopper:toatheaux, iliary hopper, said self-compensatingfeeder meansincluding a conveyor member reciprocally movableawithin :the supply hopper and having a discharge end vdisposed to discharge material. into the auxiliary hopper at a point above the material removing means, but;below the top ,of said auxiliary hopper, and control'means for, relatively adjusting the-rate of delivery of-materia1 byfithfi conveyor member to the auxiliary hopper and therate of; delivery of material to the material distributing means lfrom -the auxiliary hopper by said materialremoving-means,v so that the conveyor member may deliver'more-material to the auxiliary hopper: in avgivenperiod ofvtime than the material removing. means removes therefrom, awhereby the resulting accumulation of-.material,within .the-auxiliary hopper about thedischargeend ofathe conveyor member creates resistance to the' discharge of-material from the conveyor member and thereby reduces the rate of feed-therefrom.

2, The combination? recitedtin. -cla'imr' 1 -lwherein;athe

conveyor member of the self-compensating feeder means comprises a feeder plate mounted in the supply hopper for reciprocation with the discharge end of the plate disposed within an opening in a wall of the auxiliary hopper, said auxiliary hopper including wall members extending above said discharge end of the feeder plate whereby accumulated material within the auxiliary hopper above the level of said plate tends to reduce the amount of material discharged by the plate into said auxiliary hopper.

3. In a distributor, a hopper for material to be distributed, a feeder disk mounted therein for rotation about a substantially vertical axis, said disk rotating in a substantially horizontal plane, the hopper including walls having portions extending upwardly from the periphery of the disk, said wall portions being provided with discharge apertures positioned to receive material projected by centrifugal force from the disk when the latter is rotated, metering means comprising adjustable plate members mounted in operative relation to said apertures to control the effective discharge area thereof and cut-off means including closure plate members slidably mounted on the hopper walls and operable independently of said adjustable plate members to open and to close said apertures in all positions of said adjustable plate members.

4. The apparatus described in claim 3 wherein said hopper is mounted on an automotive vehicle for transport thereby and wherein control means are provided at the drivers seat operatively connected tosaid closure plate members whereby the cut-off means may be remotely controlled.

5. The apparatus described in claim 3 wherein said adjustable plates and said closure plate members slidably mounted in superposed relation on the hopper walls with the closure plate members disposed next adjacent to the outer surface of the hopper walls.

6. In a distributor, a material receiving hopper, a feeder disk therein mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane, discharge openings in the hopper walls at the periphery of the disk and through which material may be projected centrifugally from the disk when the disk is rotated, means for controlling the rate of discharge of material from said hopper by the feeder disk and reciprocating plate feeder means for supplying material to said hopper at a point above the plane of the disk and below the top of the hopper whereby when the rate of supply of material to the hopper by said reciprocating plate feeder means exceeds the rate of discharge of material from the hopper by said feeder disk, material accumulating within the hopper and about the discharge end of the reciprocating plate feeder means will reduce the rate of feed of material by said reciprocating plate feeder means and thereby render the same self-compensating.

7. A distributor as described in claim 6, wherein a distributor disk is mounted for rotation below the feeder disk and wherein chute means are positioned to receive the material discharged through said openings by said feeder disk and deliver the same to said distributor disk.

8. In combination, an automotive vehicle, a material supply hopper body thereon, an auxiliary hopper mounted on said supply hopper body, a reciprocating plate feeder within said supply hopper body and having the discharge end thereof disposed within said auxiliary hopper, a rotatable disk feeder within said auxiliary hopper, mounted for rotation in a substantially horizontal plane, discharge openings provided in the walls of the auxiliary hopper through which material to be distributed may be projected centrifugally from said'disk, the walls of said auxiliary hopper extending appreciably above the level of the discharge end of the plate feeder to thereby render the plate feeder self-compensating in respect to the accumulation of material within said auxiliary hopper.

9. The apparatus-described in claim 8 wherein means are provided for reciprocating the plate feeder and rotating the disk feeder, and means under the control of the operator and positioned" adjacent to the operators driving position for operatively connecting said first means to and disconnecting the same from the power plant of the automotive vehicle. I

10. The apparatus described in claim 8 wherein material metering means is provided in operative association with said discharge openings, and wherein cut-off means is provided for each such discharge openings together with means for actuating the cut-off means independently of the metering means and from a point adjacent the operators driving position.

11. In a reciprocating plate feeder, a supply hopper having an elongated bottom opening, an elongated inverted angle member secured to the outside surface of the wall of the hopper adjacent to each longitudinal edge of said opening, an elongated plate mounted for reciproca tion beneath said opening with the upper surface of the plate in juxtaposed relation to the longitudinal edges of the hopper Walls which define said opening, said plate being provided with longitudinally extending flanges at the longitudinal edges thereof, said inverted angle members being disposed between said upstanding flanges.

12. In combination with a reciprocating plate feeder, a hopper having an elongated bottom opening and a plate mounted for reciprocation beneath said opening, sealing means for the joint between the hopper walls and plate comprising means secured to the outer surface of the hopper walls adjacent to the longitudinal edges thereof, said means being provided with an elongated downwardly opening groove, the wall defining said groove terminating substantially in the plane of said opening, and longitudinally extending upstanding flanges carried by the plate and disposed outwardly of said last-mentioned means, whereby material from the plate may accumulate within said groove to form a seal for the joint.

13; In an automotive vehicle, a self-unloading hopper body thereon provided with an elongated bottom opening therein disposed in a plane inclined downwardly and rearwardly of the hopper, a plate closing said opening and mounted for longitudinal reciprocation substantially in the plane of said opening, discharge opening provided in the rear wall of the hopper body through which material from the hopper is moved by said plate when the latter is reciprocated, means driven from the power plant of the vehicle for reciprocating said plate, an auxiliary hopper supported at the discharge side of and surround ing said discharge opening and including wall members extending appreciably above said discharge opening, and material discharge means for moving material from said auxiliary hopper at a rate less than the rate of delivery of material thereto by said plate, to cause accumulation of material within the auxiliary hopper to a point above said discharge opening to create resistance to the discharge of material therefrom and automatically reduce the rate of feed of material to the auxiliary hopper by said plate.

14. The apparatus described in claim 13 wherein the material discharge means of the auxiliary hopper includes control means for varying the rate of discharge of material from the auxiliary hopper whereby to vary the rate of accumulation of material within the auxiliary hopper and thereby automatically reduce correspondingly the rate of discharge of the material by the ,reciprocating plate into the auxiliary hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 664,072 Allen Dec. 18, 1900 1,166,477 Parrish Ian. 4, 1916 2,185,415 Miles Jan. 2, 1940 2,673,090 Blumberg Mar. 23, 1954 2,698,184 Bowen Dec. 28, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,126 Great Britain 1905 683,299 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1952 

